


The Ethics of Revenge

by Misedejem



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Suicide mention, spoilers for the end of chapter 3/beginning of chapter 4, this is basically the sidequest for victor and khint that they didn't get in game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 22:23:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12285507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misedejem/pseuds/Misedejem
Summary: During a pit-stop in Florem on the way to challenge the Kaiser, Edea and her friends end up running into some familiar faces, claiming to also be in pursuit of the Empire, but not explaining why.Victor S. Court, the shining prodigy, and holder of the Spiritmaster asterisk. Despite his youth, he once stood on the Council of Six, outmatching his peers in his keen wit, cool attitude, and brilliant intellect by a sharp mile. Yet beneath his calm exterior lay a heart overflowing with the bitterest of despair. A despair that overcame him and destroyed him when he lost somebody dear.And Ciggma Khint, the enigmatic mercenary, and holder of the Spell Fencer asterisk. He once served the Khamer & Profiteur Merchantry as a bodyguard, for a steep price, in order to help fund a part of his life that he deigned to keep a secret. He vanished one day after being caught in an altercation with the duchy, and not a single soul had seen him since.By what strange trick of fate do your paths cross anew?





	1. The Ethics of Revenge

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of background info: According to some Japan-only media, Khint and Victor (and Qada and Victoria) survive the events of Bravely Default, but Bravely Second doesn't tell us what happened afterwards. As most of the duchy get reintroduced to us in choice-based sidequests, I thought it would be fun trying to write one of my own. A major issue I have with the sidequests in B2nd is their lack of plot relevance, so that's why I chose this particular subject to make Victor and Khint fight over.
> 
> Spoilers for the end of chapter 3/beginning of chapter 4 of Bravely Second

“Hey, Yew! How many Phoenix Downs did you say we had?”

Yew started at Edea’s words, despite her having been talking to him for almost ten minutes now.

“Oh, um… We have twenty-three left on the ship. Do you, uh… Want to take that up to a round thirty?”

“Fine by me,” Edea replied, shrugging and turning back to the items vendor to continue placing their order.

Yew’s eyes dropped back towards the water he had been gazing at, and he sighed. He distantly registered the brightly coloured shoal of fish that scooted past him, the garish neon lights of Florem’s business district dancing as the tiny creatures disturbed the water’s glassy surface, but they were a poor distraction from the turmoil that rumbled within his mind – a turmoil that had been present ever since their altercation at the Temple of Water with the Empire.

The altercation that had led to Sir Nikolai’s demise.

It was all so much simpler when the opposition conceded. Many of the Imperial soldiers they faced ran, or were still breathing when the four of them claimed their spoils in battle. Edea’s old duchy companions were no different, simply giving up when they knew they were defeated. But those Imperial asterisk holders… They would keep going, and going, and going until the party had no choice but to kill them just to stop them from wreaking any more havoc and taking more innocent lives. Only one of them had ceased the battle while he still drew breath, and even he intended to slay himself until he had been convinced otherwise. Why couldn’t they all be like that? All Yew, and his friends, he presumed, wanted was to save Agnès. These fatalities were unnecessary. Yew had accepted long ago that he would have to fight for his life. But he had always hated the idea of having to kill for it. He hoped he would never be responsible for the death of another Imperial soldier again.

“You know, I never noticed these before. Magic bottles?” Edea asked the vendor, snapping Yew once again out of his stupor. He hadn’t noticed them either.

“Ah, yes. I’m not really sure what they do, but apparently they undo some kind of ‘exorcist magic’. A young man asked us to produce and sell them here about six months ago. They’re made with hot spring water.”

“You don’t think maybe they undo you-know-what, do you?” Tiz suggested, clearly catching the mention of hot spring water in the same manner that Yew had. 

“Well, I’ve been studying exorcism ever since we got hold of that… thing…” Yew trailed off once he remembered the vendor, not wanting to mention asterisks or the Empire in public. “And a specific branch of their magic coincides with Necromancy, even though they’re both from different magical classes entirely. Exorcists have been known to assume a form like the people in Hartschild. And _those two_ did work together, so I suppose they could have developed both this curative and the recipe that inflicts the ailment it cures themselves. But why have it sold in Florem, I wonder?”

“Oh, the man who commissioned them is from here. He’s been around for years,” the vendor supplied, “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks though. I hope he’s alright…”

“We’ll take ten of those, too,” Magnolia interjected, delving into her bag to fish out the pg to purchase them. “Just in case there’s more of them,” she added in a whisper.

Yew nodded. Who knew if the only ones in the Empire with access to the ghost ailment were Geist and Panettone, or even if the man who commissioned the bottles was one of those two. He felt an insatiable urge to go and investigate – one so strong that he had completely overturned his growing despair. The occult branch of white magic, that encompassed such things as Exorcism and Spiritism, was something he’d never really had the chance to explore before. He made a mental note that if they escaped the Skyhold with Agnès, he would go straight to Al-Khampis and research it.

After finishing their purchase, the party pulled away from the item shop and checked over the wares they had purchased once they reached a seating area in the city square.

“I think we have everything here we need,” Tiz affirmed, pouring over the servicing supplies they’d bought for their weapons from the blacksmith.

“ _Oui._ We have all the spells the shops sold, and we’ve replenished all the items we lost in Sagitta and the Temple of Water,” Magnolia stated. Edea nodded and beamed.

“Then are we ready to go kick some Kaiser butt?”

Yew was about to meet Edea’s enthusiasm with some of his own, but before he could get the words out, he was interrupted by a voice he did not recognise.

“Pardon the intrusion, but I would like a moment of your time, if I may.”

Edea was the first to react, erupting in a small scream. Tiz stumbled back, and Yew just stared in the direction of the voice, completely stricken with awe.

***

“Do you hear that, Private?”

“That I do, sir! Even this high above sea level, the ocean is still incredibly loud.”

Sergeant Sapp pressed his hand to his brow and sighed irritably.

“ _No_ , Private. I meant the damned machine.”

Private Piddler’s mouth hung open briefly, before he laughed and nodded with vigour.

“Ohh, you mean this?” He patted Vucub Caquix’s dented head. “Yeah, I hear her loud and clear, sir! She’s roaring like a real beauty.”

“I… I can’t believe I actually fixed her. Maybe we can get back to the Skyhold after all?”

“You can do anything if you put your mind to it sir.”

“Ehhh… Don’t get your hopes up too soon. We still need to make sure she can fly.”

Piddler climbed into the cockpit on the robot’s back and looked curiously at the buttons on the control panel.

“Well, I can’t make out any of these weird squiggles, sir.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s mighty complicated.”

“Yeah, didn’t the Kaiser get a different mechanic to make her? I don’t even think we stole the blueprints for this one from Anchiem.” Sapp mused, climbing in behind his subordinate and looking at the panel himself. “Uh… I know the green one is the fly button, and then the purple one makes her transform… Ahh, but that one’s all busted. Good thing she broke down in her aerial form, I guess. I have no idea what button makes her descend though, once we’re up in the air.”

Piddler shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” And before Sapp could stop him, he pressed a stubby finger to the green button. The gears began to whir, and air blasted out around them as the mech began to rise into the air, it’s noises so deafening that even Piddler could not hear the various curse words that Sapp was spewing behind him.

“You idiot, Private!” He roared. “I just said I don’t know how to get her back down!”

“Huh… Maybe it’s the green button again?” Piddler suggested, jamming his finger into the same place he had done before. Vucub Caquix whirred again, and began to rise even higher, levelling out at the height of the Temple of Water’s crest. Sapp squeaked and gripped the sides of his seat.

“Stop pressing buttons without my permission! Gah!”

“Haha. Looks like that didn’t work. Maybe this red button?”

Sapp seized Piddler’s arm. “No, Private. No more. Look, we need to be airborne to reach the Skyhold anyway, so… Let’s just stay like this and ask once we get there.”

“Alright, sir. I might not know how to get us down, but I think I learned how to get her auto-pilot to work in that battle we had with them kids.”

“Excellent. Then to the Skyhold!”

“Alrighty!” Piddler punched the air, and then did nothing. Unable to see his face from his position, Sapp was left confused that he wasn’t acting.

“Private?”

 “Uh… Sergeant Sapp, Sir? Which way is the Skyhold?”

Sapp’s face plummeted and he let his arm drop. And then he began swearing again.

***

Edea stared in bewilderment, clapping her hand to her mouth once she realised she had screamed. Of all the people she had expected to see there, in Florem, on that day, this was the last person she would have thought of. And yet, the voice matched the appearance she knew so well, and had known for her entire life, albeit in a different form. The man she had known had been paler, gaunter, and thinner. He had no life in his eyes back then. The man before her looked healthy, healthier than he had seemed even in his youth, before that harrowing moment when his life had come crashing down around him in front of everybody he had known. Even his hair, though as long as ever, had been pulled back into a braid, which was more effort than she’d ever seen him make in the years she had known him. But if the white coat and red cravat, and the spectacles, and the floating staff he used as a weapon did not give him away, that was undeniably his face. Even the way he carried himself was the same.

Then, behind him, there was another man, whom Edea was even more certain she had met. He had not changed at all in the three years since she had last seen him – in fact he looked no different from the man in the pictures who had served her father eighteen years ago, save the long, dark green robes and the fact that there were more lines around his one visible eye. Edea knew there was one more difference to his face as well, a scar, even though his right eye remained covered by his curly, green hair. But these were not enough to hide the fact that the man from then was who she saw now.

Edea had run into many of the duchy’s asterisk holders on her quest to save Agnès, and had soon come to believe that by some trick of fate, she had not killed any of them after all. But these two had been different. Of all the people in the duchy, there were six of them she felt sure she would never see again. One of them, she knew to be dead. The other five, she assumed, had met the same fate.

Yet, undeniably, Ciggma Khint and Victor S. Court stood, very much alive, in Florem with her right then.

“Why are you screaming, child?” Khint asked with a sense of urgency, turning his head behind him and placing a hand on the hilt of his blade. It hadn’t occurred to him that it was his sudden appearance that had startled the others.

“Yes, why are you screaming, Edea?” Magnolia asked, seizing her glaive. “Are these men dangerous?”

“No… I mean… Maybe? Are you?”

“We aren’t here to hurt you, if that’s what concerns you,” Victor assured them, “please, ma’am, Ciggma. Put down your weapons.”

Magnolia and Khint obliged warily.

“I… I have so many questions. How… Are you here?” Edea asked them, still struggling to find the right words.

“I might ask the same of you. Especially you, Tiz Arrior. Did the duchy find a way to restore you that I could not?”

“Well… Sort of. Truth is, if I hadn’t been kept in your elixir, I’d have died a long time ago.” Tiz grinned. “I never realised you were directly responsible for my treatment though. I mean… I knew you designed the Vivipod, but I thought you were… Umm…”

“Dead? Well, considering I was very much hidden from the public eye when you collapsed, I am not surprised. For a time, I wanted the world to believe I _was_ dead.” Victor smiled slightly. “Yes, I was partially responsible, though I cannot take all the credit. You have Victoria to thank as well. I’m glad to see that you’re alright, Mr. Arrior. I’m… happy… that she did not have to die for nothing.”

Tiz started slightly at his words, but could not say a thing. Edea only felt more bewilderment as the conversation had grown longer. Victor was… smiling? Victoria was dead, and he was standing in Florem, looking… Happy? Three years ago, he had threatened to kill himself at the very thought of the child’s death, and Edea remembered clearly how he had reacted when she had actually passed. It was an image of despair that she would never, ever forget. This was so strange to her. What could you even say in a situation like the one she had found herself in?

 Luckily, neither Edea nor Tiz had to say anything at all, for Magnolia took the silence that followed as an opportunity to express her utter confusion at everything that was going on.

“It’s a long story, Magnolia.” Edea affirmed, hoping she would not push for clarification. The entire Victor and Victoria affair was among one of the worst things she and her friends had been through three years ago, and she didn’t want to recount it.

“…But anyway,” Tiz blurted out suddenly, sensing that his friend was uncomfortable and quickly changing the subject, “it was actually a man who didn’t come from the duchy who managed to bring me back. Professor Norzen Horoskoff, if you know him? I owe my life as much to him as I do to you.”

“I see… So that’s what he was doing…” Victor placed his hands on his hips and hung his head. “It pains me to say it, but the professor was actually murdered several weeks ago by the Glanz Empire.”

“Yeah, we know…” Tiz sighed. “Oh, but you knew the professor?”

“Yes, I did. In fact, he was my uncle. After I-”

“Whatever happened to urgency?” Khint interjected curtly.

“My apologies… I would love to hear about how my uncle restored you, Mr. Arrior, but now is not the time. We do have some questions for the four of you though.”

“Never mind those now, doctor! Didn’t you hear what the Templar’s daughter said?”

“You’re referring to her comment on the Kaiser?” Victor turned to address Khint directly and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Yes, I heard it. I suppose that is of greater importance than my previous queries.” He turned back to Edea and the others. “Are you, perhaps, pursuing the Skyhold as well?”

“As well?” Edea spluttered, “you mean that’s why you guys’re in Florem?”

“Yes. We are here to board the Skyhold, and ask the Empire some questions. That is all you need to know.” Khint’s face was stony, and his words had an air of finality to them. He would certainly not be divulging anymore.

“You made it sound as though you know how to reach the Kaiser. But all the airships in Eternia were destroyed… how do you intend to get airborne?”

“We actually have an airship… just got it actually. Another long story,” Edea said, grinning nervously.

Khint and Victor both exchanged a wide-eyed glance.

“Then let us accompany you! If it would not be too much trouble, that is.”

“W-w-we would be honoured if you were to join us, Sir Victor,” Yew stammered, speaking for the first time. Edea hadn’t noticed until he spoke that he had the same look on his face that he got whenever Tiz did something impressive. Or Magnolia. Or just about anybody he had a giant crush on, which was surprisingly quite a lot of people.

“Sir?” Victor raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, allow me to direct you to our Rubadub – aah, airship. It’s this way!” Yew ran off, in the wrong direction.

“ _Ah, la vache_ …” Magnolia sighed, running after him and calling his name.

“What interesting new friends you have now, Edea,” Victor mused. “They’re a different sort to the Vestal of Wind, that’s for certain.”

“They’re oddballs, but you gotta love ‘em.”

“Is that why you’re after the Skyhold? I understand that your friend was kidnapped by the Kaiser, wasn’t she?” Khint queried.

Tiz furrowed his brow. “Yeah. They got Agnès. We’re going to do anything we can to get her back.”

“No wonder the world wept for you when you collapsed. You’re a noble kind, that’s clear to me.” A whisper of the old Victor, filled with despair, appeared on his face. “But don’t let protecting someone else cost you your life.”

“That’s rich, coming from you.” Khint said briskly. Victor shot him a venomous glare.

“I would… Disagree.”

Khint shook his head, but did not retort. Instead, he turned his attention towards Magnolia and Yew, the former dragging the latter behind her as he frantically tried to pull away and cover the beet-red colour of his cheeks.

***

“You didn’t tell me you knew Sir Victor!” Yew plopped himself down next to Edea with so much enthusiastic force that it looked as though his dinner would overturn.

“Our fathers were buddies,” Edea replied, shrugging. “ _You_ seem pretty damn familiar with him though.”

“Oh, uh… Well, I’ve never actually met him in person. I’ve only ever seen him in pictures. He’s like a legend in Al-Khampis! He’s the youngest ever person to graduate with six stars, and he pretty much wrote the entire syllabus for crystal studies, along with his father. He’s _amazing._ ”

Yew cast a glance to the upper floor of the Rubadub, where the party’s new companions were conversing with Lotus and Sakura, a wistful glint in his eye. Edea sighed.

“How many more celebrity crushes do you gotta meet before you’re no longer completely star struck?”

“Hey, Edea… About what he said earlier,” Tiz said tentatively, perhaps choosing that precise moment to save Yew the embarrassment of replying. “What happened to Victoria? I mean… He made it sound like she died for my sake, but…”

“Ahh… Well, I don’t really know if I can say she died for your sake… More like her choice to die benefitted more than just herself…”

Edea sighed. She hadn’t wanted to do this, but Tiz had the right to know. She launched into a description of everything about the incident that she knew. How Victor and Victoria had suddenly fled the country after they were defeated by Agnès’ party, only to return just over a year later to use Eternia’s healing facilities.  So she had heard, once it became known that if Tiz was not given a stronger dose of curative than the ones he was able to take in the city that he would die, Victoria took the opportunity to give him the chamber that had kept her alive for so long. And so, in exchange for her own life, Tiz was allowed to be kept around long enough for Professor Norzen to bring him back.

“As far as I know, she’d already been written off. Everybody on the Council knew she was going to die; it was only a matter of time. So I guess she chose to end it quickly?”

Tiz remained silent, but nodded solemnly.

“Then shortly after she died, Victor just… vanished. He was in a real bad way, and when I asked father and Alternis about it, they just looked sad and said nothing. I really though he’d… you know.” Edea brought her knees up to her chin. “He seems to be doing okay now though. I can’t remember the last time I saw him look so well.”

“He said he’s Professor Norzen’s nephew, right?” Magnolia said. “He seems to be quite familiar with what the Professor was up to before he died, so maybe he just went to stay with him? Sometimes when you witness something horrible, it can help to get as far away from the place where the event happened as you can.”

“But what about the other man? Uh, what was his name again?” Yew queried.

“He’s called Ciggma Khint. He’s just a mercenary as far as I know. My guess is that Victor hired him to help out with whatever business he has on the Skyhold.” Tiz replied nonchalantly.

“Nah, that can’t be it,” Edea interjected curtly. “Khint’s a wanted man. He’s not gonna just go ahead and work with a former member of the Council of Six for money. Even he’s not that desperate. Whatever he’s doing with Victor, there’s got to be more reward in it for him than just pg at this point.”

“What? No way, what did he do?” Tiz gaped and leaned forwards.

“He was caught assisting Dr. Qada in one of his creepy schemes. Heinkel’s been out to get him ever since. I assumed he’d got him to be honest, given I hadn’t heard of him since.”

“Dr. Qada? The death-row inmate who was assassinated in his jail cell before he could be executed?” Yew’s eyes widened, and he looked quickly back up at the two men on the top deck. “That’s his accomplice?”

“Khint’s a total enigma. I don’t really know what he was up to with Qada, any more than I know what he’s up to now. But… if it was anything fishy, Victor would hand him over to the Sky Knights faster than anyone. He was always on very close terms with them, even after the war ended.”

“So what you’re saying is that whatever issue those guys have with the Empire, it has to be incredibly serious?” Magnolia frowned.

Suddenly, before anyone could reply to her, there was a tumultuous roar that heralded a huge, bird-shaped shadow that swept over the Rubadub like a cloud.

“What the heck-!?”

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Imperials above us!” Magnolia cried out, dropping to the deck.

“Imperials? That thing is one of the Empire’s machines?” Victor called out over the sound of the air gushing past the clamorous wings.

“Yes, but – Vucub Caquix? I thought we destroyed it in the Temple of Water?” Yew looked to the others for guidance, but they could offer none.

“Yew, what do you want us to do?” Lotus’ voice cried from the ship’s helm. “It’s headed in the opposite direction of the Skyhold!”

“The Skyhold should be our main priority,” Yew tried to say, but he was interrupted by Khint’s voice from above him

“If that’s an Imperial weapon, we need to go after it. It may contain the answers we need.”

“But… The Skyhold…? I thought you wanted to confront the Kaiser and-?”

“The Kaiser? I don’t recall ever mentioning the Kaiser specifically. Ciggma and I merely wish to find an Imperial, period. Soldier, officer, Kaiser, whomever may come our way.” Victor stated, his eyes affixed firmly on the disappearing shape of Vucub Caquix out in the distance. “This monstrosity may be dangerous. It is simply unacceptable to let it go unchecked.”

“You can’t be serious!” Edea hissed.

“ _Ah la vache_!” Magnolia cried suddenly, clapping her hands to her mouth, “the wing just broke off!”

Everyone on the airship turned to face the machine in the distance, which was smoking profusely from its left side. It teetered, and began spiralling towards the ground at rapid speeds, leaving a plume of smoke in its wake. All the party could do was watch as it cascaded down, down into the ground, where it smashed into a field with a calamitous, final crunch.

“They’ve crashed in Florem Gardens. Now is our chance to make a move,” Khint announced, to Victor moreso than anybody else. The doctor nodded, and without another word, the two of then cast a teleport spell in succession and vanished from the ship in an instant.

“…Huh. They teleported…” Tiz folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “Do they expect us to wait for them and give them a ride to the Skyhold?”

“They didn’t really say, did they? I don’t know…” Magnolia replied, her own expression a mixture of confusion and concern.

“They seemed to just want access to an Imperial soldier, but… I dunno, guys, do you think we should go after them?” Edea said, her voice wavering.

“The Skyhold hasn’t made a move yet… I think we’d have time to go after them, but why do you suggest we do?” Yew cast a glance towards the beam of light far off in the distance. So far, nothing had changed. The Kaiser had not made use of it yet.

“It’s just… I don’t really know what Victor and Khint have planned, and what if the people on the mecha are hurt? It’s gotta be Sergeant Sapp and Private Piddler, right? I don’t want them to _die_ or anything. They’ve kinda grown on me, haha.” She rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

“That crash did look pretty serious… Maybe we should go and check, just to make sure everything is alright.” Tiz nodded.

“Right.” Yew pounded his fist into his palm. “Lotus! To Florem Gardens!”

***

Sergeant Sapp was on fire. There was a ringing in his ears, and every inch of his body ached, but most alarmingly, he was on fire. Somehow, this was the last thing he registered once he realised that the pinprick of white light he saw was the moon, and not the heavens opening up to take him away. Only when he had convinced himself that he was alive did he suddenly notice the burning, which he resolved to put out by rolling into the tiny stream that was running alongside the crash site. Alas, he had been too slow to respond. His military jacket had been reduced to a smoking wreck.

“Private?” he called out, shakily rising to his feet in the water and taking in his surroundings as he surveyed the area for his subordinate. The crash had scorched much of the plant life to a black, smouldering crisp, but if he strained his eyes, he could make out a vast field of brightly coloured flowers that stretched all the way out to the grey silhouettes of the mountains in the distance. It looked as though they hadn’t even made it out of Florem, let alone to Harena where the Skyhold had headed. There was no sign of the Private anywhere.

“Private!?” he called again, slightly more urgently this time. He still didn’t reply. Sapp’s pulse quickened. He couldn’t have… He wasn’t… Was he?

“Piddler?” He dragged his feet out of the stream and wobbled back over to the wreckage, his stomach sinking. He’d already ruined another one of the Kaiser’s robots, but that could be rebuilt. But if he’d killed his Private… He had always been a handful to deal with, and Sapp was astounded that he had lasted this long, but he’d been the one to fix the robot, and he was the one who declared it safe to use. If his own mistake was responsible for Piddler’s death, he didn’t know how he would live with himself.

“Sergeant?” he heard a quiet, but comfortingly familiar voice reply from the other side of the crash site. Instantly, all his doubt flushed from his body as he turned to see the Private rise from the wreckage. His coat was also damaged, torn along the front, and his helmet was missing, but he seemed fine otherwise.

“Shit, Private…” he began, wanting to tell him not to scare him like that again, to express his pleasure in knowing the man was alright, but as always, his words failed him. Try as he might, he could never manage to express himself in that way. “…what a mess we’ve landed ourselves in…”

“Poor thing. I don’t think she’s gonna go back together again, Sir…” Piddler nudged a sheet of metal gently with his foot.

“She’s well and truly dead. Rest in peace, old girl.”

“Yep, rest in pieces.”

The two of them stared at the wreckage for a few moments, only the sound of the wind rustling the grass and the babbling of the stream breaking the otherwise silent atmosphere. Sapp placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

“So now what?”

“Wanna explore?” Piddler suggested, taking off his ripped coat and inspecting it.

“…I guess we probably better, huh?” Sapp was slightly taken aback at a sensible suggestion coming from the Private, but he didn’t mention it. “But first, we should probably check for anything salvageable…”

***

“Hey!”

Sapp snapped his head up and he looked around. He and Piddler had been working on moving a sheet of metal. It wasn’t particularly big, but both men were still aching terribly from the crash, and Sapp was afraid to put too much strain on himself in case he injured anything more. He’d healed them both with the White Magic he knew, but he was concerned it wasn’t enough. They wouldn’t be moving it at all, had it not been covering the control panel of the mecha, which Sapp hoped had a transmission device built into it so they could call for help.

“Did you hear something, Private?”

“Hear what?”

“It sounded like a woman’s voice…”

“Oh, yeah. There’s a couple of people walking over with guns out right now, Sir. It was probably them.” Piddler smiled and pointed out across the stream behind the Sergeant.

“WHAT!?”

“Hey you two!” a different voice snapped. “Put that down and step away from the machine. Now!”

“Are they pointing guns at us now?” Sapp asked in a wavering voice.

“Yup. Fingers on the trigger and everything, sir.”

Sapp nodded and slowly placed the sheet metal back on the ground, before turning with his hands up to face the gunmen. As soon as he saw them, he let out a choked sound that was something between a gasp and a scream.

Piddler had failed to mention a few key things, apparently. Firstly, that the two women preparing to shoot them were Imperial Sniper Vans, wearing the khaki green uniform synonymous with the soldiers the Kaiser had dispatched to Eisenberg. Secondly, that there was a third person with them, not carrying any weapons but still no less intimidating. And thirdly, that the third person was an asterisk holder.

“Oh, hey there Lord Angelo.” Piddler was still beaming. “I didn’t know your ghost haunted these here gardens.”

“…What? Ghost? I’m not… What?”

“That’s Imperial property,” one of the snipers barked, apparently ignoring Piddler’s remark. “Step away, or we will shoot you.”

“We’re Imperial soldiers!” Sapp said, his voice no less strangled than it had been earlier.

“Unlikely. Imperial soldiers are not allowed to remove their uniform except for showering or sleeping,” the other sniper replied sharply.

“They caught on fire... I… I’m Sergeant Charan Sapp, and this is Private Poran Piddler. I swear, we’re Imperial soldiers! Look, I’ll show you.” He attempted to move in order to grab the remains of his uniform, but the sniper’s finger on the trigger of her rifle twitched and he froze to the spot.

“I know those names. But how do we know you’re not posing as them?”

“I have my name written in my underwear if you want to see that I’m me,” Piddler supplied.

The snipers both went bright red. “You don’t need to-!”

“It’s alright. They’re legit. I don’t recognise them as such, but only the Kaiser’s idiots would think to call me ‘Lord Angelo’.” The third person, whom Piddler had dubbed as such, held out his hand, and the two snipers lowered their weapons. “Why on earth do you think I’m a ghost though?”

“You _are_ Lord Angelo? B-b-but you died! You went to Yunohana to fight Yew Geneolgia and you didn’t come back!” Sapp lowered his arms and moved forwards to get a closer look.

“Don’t call me that childish name. It's Chef Angelo to you. And no, just because I never returned, doesn’t mean I’m reckless enough to get killed. The Kaiser simply told me never to bother coming back if I didn’t kill those kids, and evidently, I didn’t. So I didn’t go back.” He tapped one of the snipers on the shoulder. “These men need medical help. Go make use of yourselves and get the others.”

“Yes chef!” they chimed, and the two of them ran off in the direction they had come from.

“Others? There’s more people here?” Sapp enquired, not quite sure how to address the man. Was he still technically his superior?

“Oh yeah, about ten others. All from different divisions of the Glanz Empire,” Angelo put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Uh, let’s see… There’s two Guards, another Van, two Deserts, and then the rest are all just regular soldiers. They all insist they’re still part of the Empire, so they’ll probably help you out.”

“Are they not still part of the Empire?”

“Would you consider people abandoned by the Kaiser still ‘part of the Empire’? Hmm. It’s not really any different to getting fired from a job. He obviously doesn’t want them anymore, so therefore they’re not Imperial soldiers. They’re just idiots who travelled across half the world chasing a man who probably doesn’t even know they exist.”

“So why are you with them, if you don’t agree with their sentiment?” Sapp clenched his hands into fists. He had never spoken to the baker at length before, and now he was glad of it. He wanted very much to punch him in the face, he was so pretentious.

“I’m not with them. After I left the Empire, I just came here because it’s where Aimee and I were living before we joined you lot. When the Skyhold got blasted by that beam of light, it fled over this way and the soldiers following it wound up getting lost here in the gardens, and now they won’t leave!” Angelo’s voice went up an octave and his speech grew faster as he went on. “And now you guys show up, and you take out half the gardens by smashing Vucub Caquix into them. Do you even know how long it took Aimee to make that thing? It was like her damned child, and you go and wreck it!”

“How can a person have a robot child?” Piddler asked, not seeming to realise just how frazzled Panettone was becoming.

“I didn’t realise Lady Aimee was the one who built this thing,” Sapp said, taking on what was a feigned tone of interest in the hopes that it would quell the man’s irritation. Angelo was well known among the Imperial soldiers, not only for his good looks and his talents in the kitchen, but for his ruthless tendency to poison anybody who got on his bad side.

“Well, it obviously wasn’t any of the regular mechanics the Kaiser hired. It was actually decently built. Yes, she certainly designed it, and helped direct the building process for it. She always had a talent for engineering, especially in the weapons department… She was nothing sort of amazing at it…” His voice became softer, as did his face, but that did nothing to ease Sapp's wariness of him.

“So I’m guessing you know a bit about it then?” Sapp asked tentatively. “Like, perhaps you know if we can contact the Skyhold with it?”

“You ought to be able to. I think all the Empire’s mechs are built with a transmitter, in case of emergency. But…” he tilted his head towards the wreckage. “Whether or not it’ll work in this state, I can’t say. Knowing Aimee, she’ll have built it so that you can contact the Skyhold even if the body of the mech has been blown up, but that’s just an inkling, I’m afraid.” Angelo’s eyes suddenly widened. “Wait, if you _can_ contact the Skyhold then that means you and the other soldiers can leave!”

“Uh… yeah. That’s the idea.”

“Then we’d better find that transmitter.” He rolled up his sleeves and stepped over the little stream, before marching over to the remains of the mech and beginning to peer over it carefully.

“Alright… I’m still a little shaky from the crash, but if three of us work on moving this stuff then it should be possible even with our injuries.”

Sapp pointed out the sheet metal that was covering the control panel first, and the three of them spread themselves out around it so they could try lifting it. They were just about to take hold of it when they were, once more, distracted by a disembodied voice.

“Here’s the crash site. But I don’t see Victor or Khint anywhere, do you?”

“What the hell? Yew Geneolgia?” Sapp felt himself deflate. Of course _they’d_ show up now. He wasn’t ready for a fight.  

The young boy and his friends jumped once they spotted the wreckage, and began to rush over. Sapp tensed, and wished he had a weapon. He _really_ wasn’t ready for a fight.

“Crystals, that looks bad,” the boy with messy, brown hair murmured, his thick brows knitting together with concern.

“ _Ah, la vache_ … How did the two of you survive this?” the tall, white haired woman gasped, hopping over the stream and coming towards them.

“Wait…! Panettone? What are you doing here?” the blonde girl gaped and followed the taller one across the water as well.

“Honestly? I was trying to take a nap, before these two showed up,” Angelo sighed. “What do _you_ want?”

“We saw the crash happen, and we came as fast as we could,” Yew stated proudly. “We wanted to make sure nobody was hurt.”

“…Oh…” Sapp raised his eyebrows. Weren’t these people enemies of the Empire?

“We’re also looking for two men,” the blonde girl added. “Have you seen any?”

“But you’ve got two men right there.” Piddler pointed to Yew, and then to the brown-haired boy. “And with us three, that makes five men. You’ve got more than enough men.”

“Ehhhh… No… Two _specific_ men,” the girl sighed, the corners of her lips threatening to twitch into a smile. “A really tall guy in dark green robes, and a guy with long grey hair in a white coat. You seen anybody like that?”

“The only people I’ve seen in these gardens are Imperial soldiers,” Sapp affirmed.

“Same here. None of them fit those descriptions either.” Angelo folded his arms.

“You have a real specific type, missy.”

“Private. Be quiet.”

“Yessir.”

“They probably teleported further in. We should keep going,” the brown-haired boy mused. The others nodded.

“But first, you three need to get out of here,” Yew said abruptly to Sapp, Piddler and Panettone.

“Right,” the white-haired girl agreed. “If those guys catch you by the wreckage, even without uniforms they’ll think you’re with the Empire.”

“They’re both asterisk holders,” the blonde girl explained. “And one unarmed Imperial asterisk holder, plus two injured soldiers, versus two incredibly powerful Eternian asterisk holders… I don’t think you stand a chance.”

“You took my asterisk anyway, remember?” Angelo grumbled quietly, pouting.

“The duchy is here?” Sapp stepped backwards in alarm. “That’s… real bad.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“Uh… I wouldn’t really say they’re with the duchy, Edea,” the brown-haired boy said.

“Well… No, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous, Tiz.” Edea replied haughtily.

“They’re after the Empire regardless of who they’re working for,” Yew said in agreement. “So you need to get away before they find you.”

“Why should we trust you? You’re the bastards who killed all our superiors, and countless soldiers. This could be a trap,” Sapp spat. He’d seen these kids kill Nikolai less than two days ago, and now they’d turned up again with that same steely glint of determination in their eyes. It was terrifying.

“It’s not like we wanted to!” The white-haired girl’s voice was choked in exasperation. “Don’t think their deaths don’t haunt us to this day.”

“Magnolia…”

“We only want to save our friend,” Tiz scorned. “And we only take life if we have to. Why do you think you guys are still alive? It’s because you know when to back down. Do you really think that if we were heartless killers, we’d spare you?”

“Sergeant…” Piddler interjected.

“Not now, Private.”

“Sorry, sir. It’s just that ain’t there a whole bunch of other Imperial soldiers who don’t know about these anti-risk people right here? Like them girls who tried to shoot us earlier.”

“…Shit! You’re right! You said there were twelve other soldiers in the gardens, right chef?”

“Yes, that’s right. They’re very deep into the thick of the place, but it doesn’t take too long to get there from here.”

“Say, Edea, or whatever your name is,” Sapp turned to address Edea directly. “These guys – are they dangerous? Are they going to kill the Imperials they find?”

“I don’t know… Victor probably won’t, but I don’t really know Khint well enough to know what he’s thinking. There’s a real chance he will kill them, but I honestly can’t say.”

“My, my, this is Ciggma Khint we’re dealing with?” Panettone piped up, rolling his sleeves back down and stepping over the stream. “Then this is serious. Khint makes me look like an amateur, and I don’t say that lightly.”

“Well, it’s my duty as a Sergeant to protect my subordinates. If they’re in any danger, then I have to go. You in, Private?”

“Yessir! I’m always in for a fight, sir.”

“What about you?” He looked at Angelo.

“Oh, I suppose. I’m not dumb enough to pick a fight, but those idiots are camped right outside my house. I guess I should probably stand by in case I need to put out any fires.”

“Right. Then lead the way, you kids!”

Yew Geneolgia and his friends looked befuddled for a brief moment, but soon their steely looks of determination returned and they took off at speed into the very core of the blooming gardens of Florem.

***

The air was already pungent with a smokiness that anybody who used fire magic knew all too well by the time the party reached their destination.

“It only gets worse from here on in,” the familiar voice of the orange-cladded traveller who always seemed to follow them around affirmed grimly.

“Are we too late?” Edea asked, her heart still in her mouth from the sprinting to get there. The Adventurer shrugged.

“See for yourself.”

Their nonchalant behaviour never really helped ease a person’s nerves before a battle. Edea probably would have kicked them a few times, were they not an excellent resource for items.

The party moved forwards into the huge clearing that led to the thick of the Gardens, immediately discovering the source of the smokiness. Khint was stood in the clearing, his scimitar ablaze with flickering, orange flames. Somehow, the cuffs of his long sleeves never caught fire while he was wielding the powers his asterisk gave him. Some distance away, calm as ever, Victor stood, watching, his golden staff floating gently by his side.

A few meters away from the two men were the reason for their hostility – a huddle of about twelve Imperial soldiers, all dressed in an assortment of different coloured uniforms, carrying an array of weapons. One of them looked no older than fourteen, while the oldest of them had to be in their fifties or sixties. Yet, despite their differing ranks and ages, at that very moment in time, they all had the same look on their faces that brought them together as one. It was a look of nothing less than sheer, undiluted terror. They were all stood next to a wooden house that Edea did not remember having been there before, when they had faced Mephilia in these gardens three years ago. Its roof had been masterfully shaped into the image of a stack of pancakes. Was this where Panettone lived?

“We will not ask you again,” Khint warned them, his voice even and gentle. “Tell us what you know.”

“I swear we don’t know a thing!” A Desert Axeman squeaked, his voice trembling.

“Khint! Victor! I thought you said you just wanted to interrogate _one_ Soldier.” Edea snarled, stomping forwards and attempting to seize the Spell Fencer by the sleeve. He slapped her away.

“Don’t interfere Edea,” Victor told her sharply. His voice sounded nothing like it had before. It was chilling and harsh, like the voice of the man Edea had fought against all those years ago once more. It was a voice that instilled terror into the hearts of any foe. The doctor’s eyes were equally as harsh, an icy blue as biting as the snowfields of Eternia. Edea tentatively placed her hand on the hilt of her katana.

“Please help us…” one of the Sniper Vans whispered through a voice strangled with tears.

“They’re not gonna answer you if you’re brandishing weapons like that. They’re scared to death, look at them!” Tiz argued.

“Maybe he’s right, Ciggma. Let’s not resort to torture quite so soon.”

“Hmph. You may have a point.” Khint extinguished his blade and sheathed it. Edea sighed in relief, but the soldiers remained tense.

“We don’t want to hurt you without reason,” Victor assured the soldiers, stepping forwards. “If you really can’t answer our questions, we’ll take you into custody and move on. No blood should needlessly be shed here today.”

Khint shuffled slightly, and Edea though she saw him scowl at Victor’s words.

“Now, I’m looking for some people the Empire took prisoner when they attacked Eternia. Specifically, the ten researchers I tasked with watching over Tiz Arrior here while I was away. You’re all sure you don’t know anything?”

The soldiers conferred amongst themselves in a hushed whisper.

“I’m sorry. None of us were tasked with taking Central Command. Only us in blue even set foot in Eternia, and we all went to the city,” an Imperial medic affirmed. “We don’t know anything.”

“Uh oh…” Yew could be heard muttering under his breath, and he quickly whipped his head round to whisper to Magnolia. “You don’t think he means _those_ ten researchers, do you?”

“Oh no… Oh Yew, what if he does? How do we even begin to tell someone something so horrible?”

“We can’t really know they’re telling the truth, doctor,” Khint could be heard saying in an equally hushed voice.

“You guys are talking about those research notes we found in Ancheim?” Tiz asked, his voice quavering. “They specifically mentioned the researchers tasked to protect me were used… I don’t see any two ways about it. It’s the same people.”

Tiz dug around in his bag and pulled out the notes he was talking about. He had gone slightly white, and Edea knew why. Both she and Tiz had witnessed first hand how Victor could react in the face of loss, and it was not a pretty sight to behold. There was a very good chance that if he read what was on those notes, he would kill every one of those soldiers right there and then.

But then she couldn’t just _not_ tell him. He had the right to know. They were his handpicked research team, after all. The same faces Edea had seen running after him almost every day for eight years, and after his father in the seven before that. She hadn’t realised until just then, after hearing Victor mention them, that those were the people the Empire’s research notes referred to.

As she walked towards Victor, the papers in her quaking hands, she found herself having to force herself not to throw up.

“H-hey, Victor. You should probably look at this.”

“Hm? Is it relevant? If not, it can wait.”

“No, it’s relevant. I think it’ll answer all your questions… But just promise me you won’t get mad, okay?”

The silence was suffocating as the Spiritmaster read through the notes Edea handed him. On trembling legs, she began to retreat back to her party and braced herself for the potential fight to come.

It took an age for Victor to finish reading, or so it felt like it did. Then the silence was broken suddenly by the sound of his staff dropping to the ground and striking a pebble in the grass. His face went deathly pale and his mouth twitched. His eyes widened. He dropped the papers.

“…What…? This is…? I can’t believe it…”

“Victor…” Edea considered going to him, but Tiz seemed to sense her intentions and grabbed her hand.

“What is it? What does it say?” Khint asked, stepping forwards and making to pick up the paper. Victor stepped on it, and then with his heel, began to grind it into the dust.

“No. No more… Nobody else should ever see these notes again…” His voice was so quiet, but it was obvious that it was breaking. He kept grinding the paper into the ground, the same stony, wide-eyed look on his face. Only after it was pulverised did he look up, and he made a slow turn to face the soldiers again, all of whom had gone rigid and quiet.

“You… killed them?” he grimaced. “No, this is worse than that. Worse than torture, even. I might even be able to excuse that… But this? This is… This is… _THIS IS BARBARIC_!” He punctured the air with a spine-chilling scream and hurled a holy spell towards the trees to the side of him, his body heaving. The clearing filled with the hot light, but only the flora was singed. The people stood around him remained unharmed.

“Crystals, Victor, calm down!” Edea called, not even sure he could register her words at that point. At least he was taking out his anger on the surroundings. She’d seen him fly into a rage like this before, and he had tried very hard to kill her when he did.

“What the hell did that paper say?” Khint asked her, pulling out his blade again. He could probably cut Victor down if he needed to, but Edea hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“They… They experimented on them…” Victor replied before she had the chance. “They turned them into a monster… What kind of sick person does that!? What was it for!? Why does this… this thing exist!?” He looked directly at the soldiers, his eyes blazing. “Tell me what you know! Why did your Kaiser let this happen?”

“We… We don’t know what you’re talking about,” the same Imperial medic from before spluttered, clutching at the grass beneath her.

“I’m talking about this Amphisbaena experiment! Those notes… They said you turned my friends into a monster… Why…?” Victor’s voice was suddenly thick with what sounded like tears. “Why!?”

The soldiers were silent. Then one of them, the Guardstave who looked like the youngest, spoke out. “Amphisbaena was… People? It was made out of people?”

“Yeah. It was. I read the notes too, and that’s what it said,” Yew affirmed, his tone dark. “We fought and killed the thing when it attacked us in Ancheim, and we found the notes inside it.”

“That’s so sick…” A Guardspear whispered.

“How… Could they? How could the Kaiser authorise such a thing?” One of the Sniper Vans squeaked.

“That’s fucked up…” Sergeant Sapp said to himself. “That’s so fucked up… What the fuck…”

“How scary…” Piddler quavered, staring at the ground.

“Do the soldiers not know what goes on in their own fortress?” Magnolia asked. Based on the reactions of everyone in the area, she seemed to be on the mark. There was no way all of them could act so convincingly. The looks of horror on all their faces seemed genuine. Even Khint, who usually looked so stoic, looked unnerved. “Surely the higher-ups should have said something to them! That’s insane! How could you keep this from them?”

She and the rest of the party turned to face Angelo and confront him on the matter, only to find him on his knees with his hands clasped over his mouth. He had gone a sickly shade of green.

“How… horrible…” he mumbled meekly, placing one of his hands on the ground to steady himself. He looked as though he was going to be sick.

“Even you didn’t know?” Edea turned back to face the rest of the crowd. “Maybe the experiment wasn’t made public to the rest of the Glanz Empire?”

“We don’t know anything that goes on in the research department. It’s top secret, ma’am.” An Imperial Katana affirmed.

“Then… take me to the research department,” Victor croaked. His voice had gone hoarse, but had regained the confident tone it usually possessed. He rose back to his full height, no longer trembling as much as he had been in his rage. “I’ll deal with these people directly… I’ll find out who did this, and I will kill them. Edea, let me go with you to the Skyhold.”

“Yeah… Of course… I won’t stop you,” she replied, not wanting to look him in the eye. She didn’t blame Victor for wanting to spill the blood of the people who had tortured and murdered those researchers in such a way. Part of her wanted to do the same.

“But first, we need to alert the Grand Marshal that this lot are here. They’re not responsible for anything that gives me cause to kill them, but they’re Imperial soldiers nonetheless. They need to be arrested for their crimes. You said that boy is one of them too?” he cast a stern look towards Angelo, who was still doubled over, but who was staring up at the doctor with contempt. “He’ll have to go in for questioning as well. You two should get out of here – I don’t know who you are, but you don’t look like you can hold up in a fight.” He addressed Sapp and Piddler as though he had no idea they were his enemies as well. “I have no use for you, and it’s probably safest for you that way. Do not repeat anything you’ve heard here.”

“Uh… Okay…” Sapp replied shakily.

Edea expected Sapp and Piddler to take their opportunity for freedom, but she had also expected Panettone to object. Instead, he just stayed quiet. Perhaps he thought he would not be able to resist Victor’s power if it came to a fight. Or perhaps the revelation of the Empire’s sick schemes had made him complacent to the Spiritmaster’s demands? He had chosen to fight the party in Yunohana for a personal reason, so it wasn’t as though he was particularly devoted to the Kaiser’s ideals. Or perhaps he was just being a stubborn ass.

_‘Probably a mixture of all three…’_

“Ciggma, can you help me tie this lot up?” Victor said, demanding it of him moreso than asking.

Khint remained silent for a brief moment. Then he scowled and spoke. “No. I don’t appreciate what you have done, so I am not going to take your orders.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t upheld your end of the bargain, Doctor Court. We made a contract, and you are infringing on it. I don’t appreciate that.”

“We never… I didn’t agree to this,” he hissed, and then lowered his voice. “Khint, I really… can’t afford to pay you for your help. I genuinely do not have the pg for it.”

Edea knew Victor had grown up in relative poverty, pouring all his income and his father’s savings into his research, leaving barely enough to feed himself and Victoria sometimes. There was no way he could pay Khint’s rather extortionate fees for his service, and there was no way he would hire him if he knew that he needed to.

“I never specified that I wanted money,” Khint replied curtly, though even with his harsh tone, Victor still looked relieved. “I’m well past the need for it. But you still owe me blood.”

Victor started. “Blood? You don’t mean… They’re not the ones we’re looking for. They told us who we’re after, so now we’re going to go and get them. You can have your _blood_ then.”

“I don’t think researchers will cut it, I’m afraid.” Khint shook his head. “They are your enemies. Not mine.”

“Your… enemies?” Victor narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here, Khint? Why did you agree to help me? What is your motive?”

“My motive is my business. I have reason to take issue with the Glanz Empire, much like you do, but that reason is for me to know.”

“If you have your own agenda, then by all means act on it. Ask them anything, but I will not allow you to kill them unless I am satisfied that it is justified. How does that sound?”

“They’re bartering with human lives like they’re cash…” Magnolia breathed into Edea’s ear. “How awful…”

“I don’t need to ask any questions. They’ve already told me everything I need to know. You, in the blue. You said you and your other comrades in blue went to the city of Eternia, correct?” He pointed the tip of his blade towards the Imperial medic who seemed to speak for her squadron.

“Yes,” she replied quickly, her voice slightly more panic-stricken than before.

“I see you’ve become one of the Empire’s weapons now, Angelo. They must be paying you well. Can you confirm that the ones in blue here went to the city of Eternia?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Probably. Only soldiers in blue were dispatched to Eternia, and I see no reason for her to lie. And for your information, I wasn’t being paid at all. Not in cash, anyway.”

Edea kept meaning to ask how Khint and Panettone knew each other, but this was not the time.

“Alright. Then I’m certain. All the soldiers in blue uniform die here.”

“What? Why? What did they do?” A Desert spear gasped.

“The rest of you can get lost, for all I care,” Khint scorned, ignoring the soldier.

“No, Ciggma…!” Victor growled threateningly, hoisting his staff into the air with a flick of his wrist. “It’s one thing to kill them with no justification... But to squander the opportunity to take in these wanted criminals while we have them in our grasp… I cannot let that happen.”

“So, take them in. I’m not stopping you. I only care what happens to the ones who attacked Eternia.”

“But who is to say they deserve to die for their crimes? You don’t even know what they _did._ ”

“You know what part of Eternia had the most casualties when the Empire attacked, right?”

“Of course I do. Central Healing Tower. But even then, the death toll was in single digits, and only because the White Magic Cables got briefly interrupted. But who’s to say these four individuals in an army of thousands are the ones responsible?”

“They _are_ the ones responsible,” the very quiet voice of Sergeant Sapp whispered to Edea. “They’re our squadron. And we’re definitely the ones who caused the cables to get shut off.”

“Well, don’t tell him that. He’ll kill you for sure,” she replied in an equally quiet voice. Sapp said nothing, but Edea could tell from his face that something was causing him discomfort.

“Give us credit. We may not be the smartest, but we know how to avoid dying when we need to,” Private Piddler told her in her other ear. For a brief moment, Edea cast her mind back to the joke she had with Yew about the Private being some kind of super soldier, and hearing him say something so cunning almost made her believe it.

“Hey, Edea.” Tiz sidled up to join the hushed conversation. “You know how Khint said he was past money? And you know how when we fought Profiteur that one time, he mentioned how Khint was only fighting to pay his daughter’s medical bills… You don’t think he’s doing this because she got hurt, or even died in the Empire’s attack, do you?”

Edea cast a glance back at Khint, who was still holding his sword to the medic’s throat. “Yeah… What else would he be fighting like this for?” she balled up her hands. So many people she knew of, or had met, had turned out to be dead in so little time.

“I’ll excuse myself with them, if you’d like. The gardens go on a little bit further. I can execute them there so you can do with the rest what you will.”

“You’re not executing anybody, Ciggma. I’m taking them to the Lord Marshal, where they will be interrogated properly. And should you resist, I’ll report you. I know Heinkel would love to see you again.”

“Empty threats,” Khint sighed. “Your sense of justice is frustrating Victor. Some people don’t deserve saving.”

“It’s not my job to decide who deserves saving, Spell Fencer. It’s my job to just save them.”

“And it’s not my job to decide who deserves killing. It’s my job to just kill them. And yet, here I am, deciding who to kill on my own. You should break the boundaries you’re tied to, Spiritmaster. Make your own decisions, for once in your life.”

“You fiend!” Victor whipped his staff around to strike Khint, but the Spell Fencer was too fast, and his sword flew from his hand, clashing into the neck of the staff and pushing it away.

“Stop it!” One of the soldiers, an Imperial Shield, cried out. “Don’t fight each other over us.”

“We’ve made a decision,” the Imperial Axe of the group stated.

“It was us who cut off the supply of White Magic to Eternia. It was only brief, but we now know it cost lives.” The Katana added solemnly.

“We’re under the impression that perhaps somebody you care for was among them. It’s only right that you take our lives in return.” Their Sniper wiped a tear from her eye and met Khint’s with determination. There was a small outcry from amongst the other soldiers, and both Sapp and Piddler paled.

“But we have a condition,” the medic added, raising her voice above the din. “Only us five will be punished. You will kill only us, and everybody else here goes free. They will not be taken to prison or interrogated by the duchy.”

“That’s fine by me. Thank you…” Khint pulled his blade away and walked towards the group of soldiers.

“I won’t allow it!” Victor snarled after him, sending his staff at Khint’s head for another attack. Once again, the Spell Fencer’s scimitar batted it away, sparks flying where they clattered together.

“This is ridiculous!” Tiz exclaimed, “they aren’t even trying to reach a decision.”

“Well someone better make them decide,” Angelo said sharply. “If they keep fighting like this, they’ll surely destroy this place, and us with it. If I die here, Yew Geneolgia, I swear I will torment you for all eternity when I see you in Hell.”

“Why is this my fault!? Wait… Hell?”

“Be careful, everyone. We’ve been through this before. If we side with one of them, we’ll definitely have to fight the other.” Magnolia’s expression was stern, and she readied herself into a battle stance.

“But we haven’t had to make this difficult a decision before, either!” Edea reminded them urgently. “These are people’s lives at stake.”

“Right. But it’s gonna cost all our lives if we don’t step in now.” Tiz stated, with an air of finality. “So what do we do? Do we let Khint have his way, perhaps even avenging the death of his only daughter, allowing him to sacrifice those five soldiers in exchange for the others’ freedom? Or do we side with Victor, and let him take all the soldiers, and Panettone, into the duchy’s custody, possibly leading to their entire lives being spent in prison?”

“We have no option but to choose, then. So what should it be…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has two endings, depending on whose side you agree with more. Please choose which ending you want to read in the chapter index rather than just clicking forwards.


	2. Fight Khint and side with Victor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choose to agree with Victor that the soldiers should all be taken into custody, rather than a small few sacrificing their lives to atone for their sins and so their companions can be freed.

The party nodded to one another and took a step forwards, drawing their weapons.

“Ciggma Khint! That’s enough!” Edea announced as forcefully as she could. “If you want to stop Victor, then you’ll have to go through me!”

The Spell Fencer heaved a sigh and turned his attention away from Victor and towards the four of them. Edea hadn’t registered until right then, as she stood facing him, just how tall he was.

“I expected you to side with him on this matter. You’re your father’s daughter, and you’re loyal to those in the duchy. I understand.”

“No! It’s not that. I’m not picking favourites based on my father’s opinions of a person. I’m just doing what I think is right.”

Khint’s red eyes bore down at her from beneath the shadow of his headcloth.

“It’s hypocritical of you to claim what is right in the politics of life and death, when your hands are so stained with blood.”

“Yeah, I know… I don’t think I can make this decision _without_ becoming a hypocrite. But not because of who I’ve had to kill. It’s just that… Taking your revenge on someone by murdering them only brings about more bloodshed. I can’t condone revenge-killing any longer, not after I’ve seen the consequences of it so many times.”

Khint paused briefly to take in what Edea had said, and shook his head. “Does Victor not intend to take the lives of the researchers who killed his team? Is that not ‘revenge-killing’?”

“Don’t you think torturing and experimenting on human lives to create monsters just for the heck of it is a _little_ worse than accidentally messing with a valve on a pipe?”

“If I may interject, Ciggma,” Victor began, “the soldiers here will all likely be allowed to go free after they have done their time for their crimes. The research team on the Skyhold, however, will certainly be sentenced to death. I still intend to arrest and question them first, but when the time comes for their executions, they will be carried out by my own hand. That’s hardly acting on impulse and killing them for mere vengeance, wouldn’t you say?”

Khint frowned. “Fine. I concede there. You’re right, it’s not the same. But I still won’t stand down to you, Edea.”

“Aww, seriously? You want to keep going?”

“I still have issues with your earlier statement. For example, why do you assume I’m doing this for revenge? I am a mercenary by trade. Does it not make more sense for me to be carrying this out for somebody else’s benefit?”

“That doesn’t add up though,” Tiz argued, balling up his fists. “You can’t be a mercenary, not anymore. You said why yourself.”

“…Did I?” A brief look of genuine worry flashed over his face, but was quickly replaced with his usual surly complexion.

“Yeah! Earlier, you said you weren’t in this for money anymore. But given the only reason you were ever in the hitman business was for money, it’s reasonable to assume you’re retired. Killing people for the sake of killing just isn’t like you!”

“Tch… damn… You’re good.”

“And if this was just a clean-up act against the Empire for their general crimes, which would be understandable in any case, you wouldn’t be so specific in your choices,” Magnolia added. “You’d eliminate all the Imperials here, or take out somebody whose death would actually impact the Kaiser directly. They’re just run-of-the-mill soldiers, so it’d be pointless to execute _them_ when you have the Kaiser’s personal guard here.” She nodded to the soldiers in red. “Or better yet, one of the Empire’s commanding officers.” She pointed behind her to Panettone, who put his hands up.

“Don’t give him any ideas!”

“Why don’t you tell them your motive, Khint? Maybe then they’d be more sympathetic to your cause?” Victor suggested, his tone laced with mockery.

Khint growled at him.

“We already know his motive,” Edea said, and Khint’s eyes widened. “It’s your daughter, isn’t it? Something awful happened to her when the Empire took Eternia, and you want to avenge her. Am I right?” Her tone shifted into something less forceful, gentler. She knew she needed to be tactful about what she said from then on.

Khint stumbled backwards and attempted to cover his face with his sleeves to hide the sudden despair that became plastered all over it. Edea had never seen him show emotion in such a raw state in all the time she had known him.

“How… How do you know about her?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that she’s your motive. She always was. And these are the people who killed her.”

The shock on the Spell Fencer’s face stripped away, leaving behind a grimace. Beside him, his blade burst into flames.

“So you know why… And still you deny me? She was only a child. These people killed a little girl, and you want to defend them?”

“It’s for your sake as much as it is theirs!” Edea managed to blurt out, her heart now racing. “Like I said, revenge only leads to more revenge. If I let you do this, I’ll be condemning you to death as well. Please, put down your weapon! Don’t go through with this.”

“She’s right,” Yew affirmed. “I had a friend who wanted nothing more than to avenge his parents’ deaths. So he joined the Glanz Empire to get his revenge on the High Houses of Gathelatio for causing them. He’s dead now… He went too far with his lust for vengeance, and it killed him.”

“Even I can attest to what Edea is saying,” Victor added. “Victoria and I were caught in vengeance’s vicious cycle when Victoria chose to kill the Vestal of Water for the Orthodoxy’s crimes against her. And in turn, the Vestal of Wind chose to take our lives as payment. We would have died, had a man clad in green not come to our aid. There will always be someone who cared for the person you kill who will then want you dead. And then somebody who cares for you will want them dead. It never ends.”

“So let them kill me. I don’t have anything else to live for anyway.” He swung his blazing weapon towards Edea. “And if you want to stop me, you’ll have to take me down.”

The familiar blue light of the duchy’s asterisk barrier enveloped the party and Khint, trapping them in the container the Sage had designed to prevent anybody else from coming to harm.

“Be warned, Edea Lee. For the first time in my life, I am bound by no contract, no orders. I have no intention of holding back this time. I will show you what the Spell Fencer asterisk is truly capable of!”

***

The asterisk barrier collapsed and Khint dropped to his knees, breathing heavily, clutching an open wound on his arm. Edea vaguely felt Magnolia lean on her shoulder for balance, but her body was too numb to properly feel it.

“That… Was insane…” She wheezed.

“-ja magic!?” Tiz exclaimed between breaths. “That’s what you meant by not holding back? Not cool.”

Khint managed to force a smile. Edea realised she had never seen him do so before.

“Tie him up, before he regains his strength,” Victor barked, apparently to Sapp and Piddler.

“No need to be so hasty…” Khint murmured. “I’m not going to resist…”

“I thought you said this was worth dying for?” Victor folded his arms.

“I don’t have the strength to fight anymore… I don’t think I could wield my sword long enough to graze those kids any longer…”

“You understand that I cannot let you go free. I was considering it… But given you were so insistent on defying me, I have no choice but to turn you in to Heinkel at my earliest convenience.”

“…”

As Victor dealt with Khint, Edea took the opportunity to check on the Imperials. As she and her party had fought the Spell Fencer, Victor had obviously taken the time to tie them up, and they stood, talking amongst themselves in a huddle. They all had a mixture of disappointment and relief in their expressions, but the fact that none of them looked hurt was perhaps the most stand-out aspect of the state they were in. Edea knew she could trust Victor with them. He would give them a fair trial. The new Victor, no longer influenced by Victoria’s cruel sadism, would not let any harm come to people who he did not feel deserved it.

Then she turned her attention to Panettone, who was standing a little way away from them, gazing at the wooden house that was no doubt his.

“What’s with you?” She asked, her voice thick with accusation. “You don’t seem like the type to bend so easily to Victor, considering the hell you gave us back in Yunohana. Why are you going along with this?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Why not? I’m not soft like Khint, so I won’t cave and tell you my motives, no matter how much you pressure me. But this set up actually benefits me, given that it plants me right in range of your father.”

“…Right… You know, if I think you’re a threat to my father, even if Victor won’t, I won’t hesitate to cut you down right here. And right now, you’re acting kinda scary.” She added that last part in a singsong voice that made the Patissier clench his teeth.

“You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re an asshole.” She tapped her sword on his foot mockingly. With him tied up like this, she knew baiting him wouldn’t cause her any harm. 

“… Okay, look. That Victor character is bad news. One time, he ran into me, broke three of my ribs with that staff of his, and then went and killed the Water Vestal all in the same night! And I haven’t so much as lifted my weapons since you beat me… I’m totally out of shape. Like I stand a chance against him _or_ Khint.”

“Awww, I see. You’re scared of him. You’re scared of a weak-ass healer dude.” Edea laughed and patted him on the arm. “That’s _adorable._ ”

“S-shut up.” He went red. “A-anyway. How am I supposed to uphold my promise to Aimee if I die now? I’m a man of my word. Getting arrested here is… just a snag. I’m just a mercenary like Khint anyway. I don’t have any valuable information about the Kaiser, so the duchy won’t want to keep me long. And then, once I’m free, I’ll finish setting up shop here, like I said I would.” He laughed. “If my old boss doesn’t totally slaughter you, you still need to come by and try some of my pancakes, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll do just that. In twenty years, when you get out of prison for what you did in Hartschild.” She noted the horror that appeared on his face and smirked. “Just kidding! My father isn’t _that_ much of a brute. And I won’t mention Hartschild to the duchy.”

“Hey, uh, Edea?” Somebody else said from behind her. She turned to see Sapp and Piddler waiting patiently for her to finish tormenting Angelo.

“Did you want something?”

“Yeah. Could we take a walk?” the Sergeant nodded his head in the direction of the path out of the Gardens. He didn’t say why, but Edea knew already. He wanted a private conversation away from Victor. She nodded and went with them.

“We just wanted to thank you.” Sapp said finally, after about five minutes of walking.

“Thank me?”

“Yeah. And your buddies, but they were too close to the doctor to really get their attention.”

“You really saved our behinds out there.” Piddler gave her a wide grin. “Thanks to you, that guy doesn’t know we’re with the Empire. I don’t know what he’s planning, but given he’s gone and tied everyone up, I’m guessin’ it ain’t good.”

“We think it was really noble of you. I mean, we’re your enemy. You could have told that guy who we were and got us roped in with the rest of them. Heck, you could have just not warned us about those two Eternians in the first place, which probably would have got our asses killed. Why’d you do it?”

“Well, it’s like Tiz said earlier. We don’t want to be malicious. If we can, we try to leave people alive. We don’t want you to get hurt or die or anything. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if you got killed by those two.”

“… Geeze… You’re a real good person… We prolly don’t deserve your mercy…” Sapp sniffled.

Edea smiled at them both. “No, really. It’s nothing. Have you decided what you’re going to do now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah… Like, are you gonna go back to the Skyhold?”

They both stood quietly for a moment, with Piddler being the first one to speak.

“I don’t think so, Miss Edea.”

“Yeah. Me either.”

“O-oh…” Edea exclaimed, taken aback. “Really? Huh… Didn’t expect that.”

“Yeah, well… You took out that Khint guy, and even Chef Angelo was too afraid to go near him. You’re really something else. We’re not exactly the most competent soldiers, so I don’t think we’d be any help to the Kaiser at this point. If you can get to the Skyhold before they do what they’re gonna do with that beam of light, I think you’ll win.” Sapp smiled at her.

“And besides, we don’t have uniforms or a way of getting back, or anything. So we might as well just retire and go find something else to do.” Piddler rubbed the back of his neck. “What do you say to that, Sir?”

“Yeah. Sounds good to me.”

“Hey, good for you,” Edea grinned. “Really, from the bottom of my heart, I wish you the best.”

Both men grinned back. “You too, Edea. Good luck with rescuing your friend.” Then then both saluted to her, turned, and began to run, not once looking back on the decision they had made.

***

Yew had agreed to lend Victor the Rubadub to transport the Empire and Khint to the various authorities they needed to go to, before the five of them would head to the Skyhold for their own final showdowns. Thankfully, Sakura seemed delighted at the challenge of feeding the twenty-one people aboard the ship, so the agreement wasn’t too much of a hassle for anybody but Khint, who was still acting distant and sullen after his defeat.

“I’ve been meaning to thank you all,” Victor announced to the party over dinner. Yew snorted into his noodles.

“Ahahaha, it was no problem sir! Happy to help!”

Victor forced a smile, but in truth he looked mildly terrified at Yew’s enthusiasm. “Right… But in all seriousness, you did a good thing today. You saved a lot of lives.”

“You think so? That’s something I’ve been worrying about, actually…” Edea sighed. “Victor… What is gonna happen to them? What do you think my father will do to them all?”

“I might not agree with the Lord Marshal’s decision to forge a peace treaty with the Orthodoxy, but I think in this situation that might work in our favour. He will not be as ruthless in this new era than he has been in the past. I think he will have learned his lesson from the incident with Her Holiness three years ago.”

“So you think the Empire soldiers will be okay?”

“They are criminals, Edea. You must remember that. But they’re also just puppets, and many of the people we arrested today are your age or younger. First and foremost, I think the duchy will just want to know why the Empire was established, and what the motives of these kids are. I would hope they will not be placed in any danger.”

“Alright… Thanks for putting my mind at ease.”

“My pleasure.”

“So what are you gonna do after we’re done with the Empire? Do you think you’ll go back to Eternia?”

“I… doubt I will ever return to Eternia… Too many memories…”

“Oh… Sorry.”

“I was actually helping my uncle in Al-Khampis before his passing, and after he died, I started taking over his work. I imagine I’ll stay there, start researching again, and perhaps pass on what I know. I always wanted to be a scholar, more than a doctor, and definitely more than a military officer. After I’m done with the Empire, I’ll hand up my staff, and my asterisk, for good. You can have it, actually, as a token of my thanks.”

“You sound like someone else I know,” Magnolia laughed, nudging Yew, who looked absolutely floored by the idea that his idol had the same life experiences as he did.

“That reminds me,” Victor continued, his eyes lighting up when Magnolia reminded him that Yew existed. “The question I had for you back in Florem.”

“For me?” Yew squeaked.

Victor nodded. “I overheard your excellent recount of the exorcist’s uncanny ability to prevent their own deaths by entering what we in the field of White Magic call ‘ghost state’. I was just wondering what else you knew about exorcism. You see, I’m starting to look into it for my studies, but there is only so much one person can achieve in a day.”

Yew made a noise like a deflating balloon.

“You want to share my research?”

“Well, yes, if you’re able. Why don’t you come down to my office in Al-Khampis at some point, and help me out?”

“You want me to help you?”

Yew’s voice was gradually growing so high that soon only animals would be able to hear it. The two of them continued to talk at length about research and other scholarly practises.

“So… Victor only wanted to talk to us so he could… Nerd out with Yew?” Tiz asked the girls in a hushed, bemused voice.

“I didn’t think it was possible to find someone who could match Yew’s level of nerdiness,” Magnolia giggled. 

“You guys don’t know Victor like I do. Trust me, he’s a bigger nerd than Yew is.” Edea grinned.

“ _Ah la vache_! Can the world contain that much nerd!?”

The three of them smirked, trying to hold in their laughter, but it was no use. When Victor and Yew questioned them, they just laughed even more. And so it went on for the rest of their journey, until they dropped off the fugitives with Heinkel in Yunohana and Braev in Eternia, and began to prepare for their assault on the Skyhold.

_The duchy’s quarrels were behind them. Now only one threat remained. It was time for them to board the Skyhold, take back Agnès, and defeat the Kaiser._

_The final battle was about to commence._

_Or rather… That’s what they wanted to think_

 


	3. Fight Victor and side with Khint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agree with Khint that the five soldiers responsible for the deaths of certain patients in Eternia should be executed, and that the rest of the Glanz Empire present should be allowed to go free.

The party nodded to one another and took a step forwards, drawing their weapons.

“Victor S. Court! If you want to stop him, then you’ll have to fight me first!”

Victor snarled and pulled away from the conflict with the Spell Fencer, turning to stare Edea down. His eyes were always so intense. It was terrifying.

“What did you say?”

“I said stop.”

Victor slowly folded his arms and stood straight, still peering down his nose at her. It was probably the way his spectacles sat that gave him the habit of looking down at people who were shorter than him, but it always gave off an air of superiority about him. Even if Victor didn’t believe he was anything special, it was no small wonder that half the duchy was intimidated by him.

“Like I said,” he began slowly, “I will not stand for this. Khint and these soldiers have reached an agreement that I cannot abide, and talking to him is obviously not making him see reason. What else would you have me do to ensure that the right thing is done?”

“I don’t think this is the right thing,” she said quickly, already anticipating how Victor would react.

“Not the right thing? How so?” he scorned. “So you would agree with the man who intends to shed blood and let these criminals go free?”

“I don’t exactly agree with Khint either… But I don’t think you should just dismiss his wishes like that. I don’t think you have any say in how Khint should choose to deal with his problems. Especially not something so serious. We’re talking about the life and death of a little girl here.”

“What are you saying?” Khint’s eyes widened and he took a step back.

“Yes, what _are_ you saying?” Victor goaded, his sceptical expression in vast contrast to Khint’s shock.

“The finer details don’t matter.” Edea shook her head. “But Victor… If the interference with Central Healing Tower had ended up killing Victoria, wouldn’t you want to avenge her death?”

Edea had meant it as a way to make the doctor understand, but no sooner had she said it did she realise she had made the wrong decision. Victor’s scornful face twisted into one that exuded sheer malice.

“How _dare_ you!?” He spat, marching towards her and pointing his weapon at her throat. “How dare you bring her into this!? How dare you use a child’s death as mere fodder for your twisted ideals!?”

“Woah! H-hey, calm down! I didn’t mean –”

“Do you ever stop to think before you open your damned mouth?” Victor was no longer shouting, but his words were no less biting. “No, of course you don’t. You never think before you act. You’ll use anything as a weapon to manipulate people into seeing to your level. You betrayed the duchy. You tried to kill your own friends. You even tried to kill your own father just to try and get your point across.” He let out a high-pitched giggle. “How deluded I was to think you’d grown up. You’re just as narrow minded as ever. No wonder you’re so insensitive.”

“Victor, I – I’m sorry –”

“…Do you really want to know… What I would have done if it had been Victoria who died in the Empire’s attack?” His tone and expression were both flat, as though he had already expelled all the emotion he was capable of. “I would have killed them. I would have killed every last one of them. And then I would have killed myself.” He snapped away from Edea and looked back at Khint. “I let myself cave to hatred, and guilt, until it was the only thing present in my life. I dedicated myself to that dying child, and I did everything I could to save her, even if it meant sacrificing everything else I had. And then she died, and I was left with nothing but an overwhelming desire to die myself. After all… I had poured my whole existence into keeping her alive, and fighting the thing that threatened to take her away. When all that was over, I had nothing left to live for.”

“Victor… Your story is painful to hear,” Khint told him calmly, extending a hand to the younger man. “But I don’t understand… What do you hope to achieve by telling it?”

“Isn’t it not so different from your own story? Haven’t you spent the last twelve years of your life trying to save her? I just… I don’t want to see anybody else turn out like I did…” Victor took Khint’s hand, his words dripping with desperation as he tried to grapple him to sense. “Don’t go through with this… You think avenging her death will satisfy you, but it will only destroy you… Trust me… I know it will…”

“You’re wrong,” Khint replied, so sharply that Victor was visibly thrown off balance. “I’m nothing like you. I can handle this.”

“You don’t know that! I’m only trying to do what’s best for you.”

“You are not. You’re trying to do what _you think_ is best for me.” Khint shoved him away. “This is between myself and the people who killed… Her. You are no part of this. You don’t get to dictate how we live our lives.”

“Ciggma!”

“Let it go, Victor,” Edea asserted once more. “Crystals, man, I might lack sensitivity, but you wouldn’t know what empathy was if it punched you in the face. How the hell do you have a medical degree?”

“Don’t insult me. I’ve spent my whole life studying White Magic. I’m more than qualified to practise it.”

“Well, no duh. You’re, like, the smartest guy I’ve ever met. But you need more than just book smarts to take care of people. You need to see their problems beyond a textbook list of symptoms.”

Victor growled, but did not reply.

“Listen to Khint. I don’t like it, but I really don’t feel comfortable telling a guy how to cope with grief, especially not when it comes to an organisation like the Glanz Empire. Just because I don’t wanna kill them, doesn’t mean other people who were affected in worse ways feel the same way. These people are murderers too, at the end of the day.”

“So why aren’t you letting me turn _all_ of them in? If you make this choice, you’ll be setting eight guilty people free to wreak whatever havoc they have planned on the world. Do you really think _that’s_ the better option here?”

“C’mon dude, you saw that Holy Pillar. The Empire’s in the final stages of their plan, for sure. There’s no way these guys are gonna be able to pull anything off in the time they have left. Your efforts are gonna end up being pointless anyway once we get the Kaiser."

“You’re all too optimistic for me,” Victor sighed. “Very well… I prefer not to have to resort to violence, but I simply can’t have your delusions running amok. Many people are going to get hurt unless I beat some sense into you four now.”

The familiar blue light of the duchy’s asterisk barrier enveloped the party and Victor, trapping them in the container the Sage had designed to prevent anybody else from coming to harm.

“I never really understood the Sky Knights’ obsession with violence being the answer to all their problems. It’s the area where we don’t see eye to eye. Such a shame to see that their thuggish behaviour has rubbed off on you, Edea… But there is one sentiment of one Sky Knight in particular which I can safely say I do agree with. You should _never_ underestimate the power of a White Mage!”

 

***

The asterisk barrier shattered, and Victor dropped to his knees, gasping.

“Not going to heal yourself and fight s’more? C’mon! I’m getting all riled up.” Edea pounded her fists together.

“I think… You broke my wrist… and my ribs… You idiot…” he hissed through deep breaths. “What kind of White Mage wouldn’t… set a bone… before they heal it? It’ll heal all twisted.”

“Uh oh…” Magnolia could be heard saying under her breath. 

“Um, guys? Where is everyone?” Tiz asked, looking about the area in a frantic panic.

“I guess… They all got away?” Yew supplied, his voice wavering.

“Drat…” Victor grimaced.

“Then does that mean Mr. Khint… carried out the execution?” Magnolia asked cautiously. Edea winced.

“He probably took his chance and did it while we were distracting Victor…”

“Yeah,” another voice said grimly. “It’s been done. They’re dead. Everyone else is long gone.”

“Mr. Sapp?” Edea called out tentatively. There was the sound of footsteps, and Sapp and Piddler walked out of the overgrowths of the gardens, near where the Adventurer usually waited. Both of them had uncharacteristically dark expressions on their faces. Edea wanted desperately to console them somehow, but she knew she couldn’t say anything while Victor was there.

And then, as though it were the message of an angel from the heavens, another voice began to speak from through a crack in the door of the pancake-shaped building that sat in the clearing.

“Is it safe? Is everybody done killing each other?”

“Are you… Hiding from us, Panettone?” Tiz asked, his one uncovered eyebrow raising in bemusement.

“No,” he replied, sticking his head out of the door. “I’m just taking cover in case things started to get seriously dangerous.”

“So, you are hiding,” Edea sighed. “You coward. Well, if you’re still here, you might as well make yourself useful to us.”

“Useful to you? Don’t flatter yourself. As if I would have any interest in helping you.”

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you don’t have anything I could possibly want.”

“Mrgrgr…”

“If you value your freedom, and not being dead, maybe you should listen to her,” Yew suggested nervously. Apparently Edea’s friends had adapted over time to sense her impending desire to dropkick someone when it started to bubble up.

“…Fine. I suppose I can hear you out.”

“Could you look after Victor? Just for now? He’s hurt pretty bad.”

“I’m fine…” Victor assured her, though the great difficulty with which he said it seemed to suggest otherwise.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a steep thing to ask, considering he’s a former duchy official. I daresay half of Florem would agree the world would be better off if he was dead.”

Victor shot him a dark look.

“Yikes… No need to get hostile, it was just a question. I’m not asking you to like him, I’m just asking you to give him a bed to _sleep_ in until his bones are mended and maybe something to _eat._ ” Edea placed specific emphasis on those words in the hopes that Angelo would figure out what she was asking of him. “Then I promise we’ll all get out of your hair.”

Edea flinched as the Patissier crossed over to her and stood uncomfortably close. From a distance, it looked as though he was trying his hand at Victor’s intimidation tactics, for unless you were standing right in front of him, you would not know what he was saying. He was speaking so quietly that Edea had to base her understanding off the movement of his mouth.

“Are you asking me to kill him for you?”

“No,” she replied, equally as softly. “I just want him out for a few hours so we can safely get him away from here.”

“And how will you be paying for my services?”

“By keeping you out of prison.”

“Fair enough. But if you fail to keep your promise, I _will_ kill you.”

“And if you hurt Victor in any way, I will kill _you_.”

Victor had managed to pick himself up in the time it had taken for Edea to make her contract with Panettone, but as soon as he’d pulled himself to his feet, he just toppled again. Angelo muttered something under his breath, but caught the doctor nonetheless, exuding such grace with every movement that it looked rehearsed.

“Come on, then. I’ll… get you inside.”

“Seriously, I’m fine. I don’t need help from the likes of you.”

“And I don’t especially want to help you. But we both know you need it. Quickly, before the Chompers get you.”

“…Chompers aren’t that dangerous…”

“I’ve got a bite on my left foot from a Chompette that would say otherwise.”

The two of them continued to bicker as Victor was pulled into the building and the door shut behind them. Edea expelled a breath that she didn’t realise she had been holding, and turned to address Sapp and Piddler, who had been waiting patiently, no doubt out of fear, for the asterisk holders to depart.

“Sorry we made you go through all that trouble,” Sapp sighed. He seemed exhausted.

“Better having to wait than mess up this far in,” Tiz assured them jokingly. “Imagine if you’d gone through all that trouble to conceal your identities this long, only for Victor to suss you out right when we got him beat.”

“You think he’d have actually taken us in, even against the words of our squad?” the Sergeant asked. The four friends exchanged weary glances.

“Yeah. I don’t think he would have accepted the terms of their sacrifice. Victor’s too… stubborn.” Edea didn’t want to say that Victor wouldn’t have cared about the dead soldiers’ conditions, because she knew that he genuinely did. He just wasn’t good at having his moral senses compromised. Victoria was a prime example of that.

“I see… Then thank you… For making it so that they did not die for nothing.”

The sergeant made a choked sound that sounded like he was holding back a sob.

“Are you okay, Sir?” Piddler placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine. I mean…” the older man made a pained expression and clenched his fists. “I’m… not… I feel… bad…” he let out a long, drawn-out sigh.  “They were my subordinates and I let them die… If we hadn’t lost them in Eternia then this wouldn’t’ve happened, because they’d’ve been on the Skyhold with us.”

“It’s not your fault, Sir…”

“Is that why you guys are always alone? Because you got separated from the rest of your squadron?”

“Yeah… There was a snowstorm on one of the nights, and Piddler and I were split up from the group while looking for firewood. Only we made it back to the Skyhold.”

“But we’re never alone, Miss Edea. We’ve always got each other,” Piddler stated proudly. Edea began to clarify that she didn’t mean that literally, but then it occurred to her that maybe this wasn’t the Private misinterpreting what she’d said for once.

“There’s no way we can go back to the Empire now…” Sapp muttered. “I don’t think I can look anybody else in the eye after what I let happen to my men…”

“I know what you’re going through,” Yew said plainly. Everybody looked at him, each with a mild expression of confusion on their faces. “I’m in charge of the Crystalguard back in Gathelatio… Most of them lost their lives when Janne and Nikolai betrayed us, and you can bet I blamed myself. I still do, even now, months later. But I think the people who died would be unhappy if I shut down over their deaths. They would want me to keep going. I think you should do the same.”

“So you think we should not be sad about those people dying, Mr. Gorgonzola?” Piddler cocked his head.

“It’s… Geneolgia. And no, that isn’t what I meant. You’re allowed to mourn, just… Remember you have a life to live too, okay?”

“I understand.” Sapp nodded, his shoulders shaking slightly. “I’ll try what you said…”

Behind them, Edea heard the sound of the door to Panettone’s house opening.

“You still look real down though Sir. Do you need a hug?”

“…Please.”

“How cute,” Magnolia chimed delightedly.

“Edea Lee?” a voice called from the door, but it was not the voice Edea was expecting to hear.

“Khint?”

***

“Are you okay, Edea?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why would you think I’m not, Tiz?”

“Because you’re not eating your dessert with the gusto I’d expect from you.”

“…I feel really slimy.”

“Slimy?”

“Yeah… Like… is this okay? Is what we did tonight a good thing?” Edea moved her pancakes around on her plate with her fork. They were the most incredible pancakes she’d ever tasted, but she just couldn’t enjoy them.

“You mean setting those soldiers free?”

“No, not that part… I don’t think a handful of soldiers are gonna make a difference either way… But we helped a wanted criminal commit murder today… I also hired the Empire’s choice hitman, apparently… Hahaha...”

“Oh, so that’s what you were saying to him?” Tiz cast a glance over to a pile of blankets by the wall of the little house, where Victor was passed out with his arm in a splint. “I’m guessing you were asking him to help you deal with Victor?”

Edea nodded.

“That’s different,” Magnolia assured her, taking her hand in hers. “I think you did what was best for Victor. He looks exhausted. He needed the rest, and I think drugging him was the only way to make him get it.”

“For what it’s worth,” Khint interpolated between sips of the coffee Angelo had given him, “Victor figured out what you were doing to him. He agreed to take the sleep medication on his own terms. So the contract you made with Panettone fell through.”

“That… helps.” Edea nodded. “But I don’t trust him enough to drop my end of the bargain," she added, intentionally loud enough for the baker to hear.

“I wouldn’t either,” Magnolia whispered.

“But you still feel bad about the decision you made,” the Spell Fencer went on, putting at as more of a statement than a question.

“I don’t think I made the wrong decision in letting you have your way… I was worried that if I didn’t stop Victor, he would have gone too far and ended up hurting himself as well as others. And I don’t think it would have been wise to stop you… Or to go against the wishes of those guilty soldiers. I just know that my decision isn’t going to make me look favourable. That’s all. Heck, even you disagree, don’t you, Yew?”

Yew cupped his chin in his hands and stared at the table. “Sorta, yeah… In principle, anyway. I’ve seen what a lust for revenge does to people, like Janne, so I’m not really convinced that enabling it is the best idea. But you know the duchy better than anyone, Edea. Just because Janne couldn’t control it doesn’t mean that’s universal, but I’ve never met Mr. Khint before, so who am I to say how he’ll react?”

“I don’t know him all that well either,” Edea told him. “You left the duchy when I was a baby and only showed up again as the merchantry’s bodyguard a few years ago, right?” She turned to look at Khint, who nodded. “I actually don’t know you at all… That’s why I couldn’t side with Victor. Because I can make decisions for the people I grew up with all my life, or if the ethics behind a situation are really clear to me. But to choose whether a total stranger should take revenge for his own kid? That’s not something I’m comfortable disputing.”

“May I ask how you figured that part out? About my daughter… Who told you?”

“That’s… Kinda hard to explain,” Tiz said, smiling nervously.

“You probably wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Edea agreed.

“…I see. I advise you do not go snooping into other people’s private lives again, but I won’t pressure you anymore.” Khint leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “She’s gone now. So I suppose there is no point in hiding her any longer…”

“You are alright, aren’t you?” Magnolia asked. “I mean… Tonight must have been quite emotional for you.”

“I did what needed to be done, and now I can move on. There’s nothing to be emotional about.” He cast a glance to Victor’s sleeping form. “At a time like this, being emotional can even end up getting you hurt.”

 “Do you feel anything ever, Khint?” Edea contested. Khint laughed.

“That is not to say I didn’t grieve… Of course I did. But that was months ago, and when you lead a life like mine, you learn to move on quickly. People die all the time. That is just a fact when you’re in the military, or a mercenary… Or when you lived through the Plague. But that’s enough of my life story.”

“You didn’t really tell us much,” Edea mumbled, but she knew pressing him further was useless. She still felt a little too uneasy to have the vigour to challenge him.

“If it will help ease your doubts at all, then think about what happened tonight like this.” Khint leaned forwards again. “You gave a group of young people the opportunity to rethink their life choices. You helped a dead girl’s spirit rest easy, as well as the spirits of those who killed her. And you gave Victor a lesson that he needed to learn eighteen years ago, and apparently was never given, because nobody had the guts to confront him. You improved a lot of lives.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“And now you can move on too, right? I mean, you don’t have to keep killing people to raise money anymore,” Tiz asked him.

“Yes… I suppose that’s right. It will be good to retire.” He pulled down his cowl and reached down the front of his robes to pull out a gold chain necklace with a hunk of orange crystal attached to it. “I have no use for this any longer. Please, accept it.”

“Oh! Thank you!” Yew beamed, carefully taking the asterisk from the man.

“Hmph…” Angelo scoffed from the kitchen sink, where he was scrubbing the pan he had used to make everyone’s pancakes. “They won’t have any use for that. Anything your asterisk can do, Aimee’s asterisk can do better.”

“That’s not quite true,” Khint sighed irritably. “Miss. Matchlock’s abilities were derived from spirit magic. Mine are derived from Black Magic. She could not use status ailments, for example.”

“’Could’? So you… know what became of her?”

“I surmised as much… I am sorry to hear it. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…”

“Do you know one another?” Magnolia asked, quickly diffusing the increasingly distressing topic of conversation.

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask that for ages,” Edea echoed through a mouthful of her pancakes.

“We have… mutual friends,” Angelo said vaguely.

“That’s a very… simplistic way of putting it.”

“Well, I presumed you’d want to keep _that_ part of your life private.”

“You can’t just leave us without answers like that!” Edea complained.

Khint shrugged. “My love life isn’t that big of a deal. I actually think you’re the one wanting to withhold this particular piece of information.”

“ _Love life!?”_

“I was in a brief relationship with his mother,” Khint eventually stated.

“My _mentor._ ”

“I knew the family for a few years before then though. I think I’ve known you since you were about twelve.”

“…”

“He hasn’t changed much. You’d expect somebody to mature at least a little in five years, but apparently not.”

“Don’t you all have somewhere to be?” Panettone snapped. As if right on cue, Victor emitted a little groan in his sleep.

“Right… We need to get him back to our airship,” Tiz affirmed.

“The hot spring water should finish up his healing job nicely.” Yew pounded his fist into his palm and stood up from his seat.

“But… He’s so _tall,”_ Magnolia said hopelessly. “How do we even begin to move him?”

“I’ll carry him for you,” Khint offered, also rising to his feet. Victor was tall, but Khint was taller. “I should get going myself anyway.”

“Where are you going to go?” Edea asked.

Khint pondered for a second, and then shook his head. “I don’t know. I suppose… Wherever my life may take me.”

***

The party parted with Khint when they reached the Rubadub. He surmised that it would be best for both himself and Victor if they did not confront each other again. Once the doctor awoke, his behaviour turned quite sour, no doubt because of the fight. He hid himself in the bath, sulking and refusing to talk. Edea supposed, though, that this was better than having to deal with him when he was angry. He was still going to accompany them to the Skyhold, at the very least, which was more than she expected of him. 

Perhaps that meant he wasn't too mad at them, after all? And it would always be possible to make it up to him once everything was over. But, for that particular moment in time, there were far more pressing matters to deal with than Victor's bad mood.

_The duchy’s quarrels were behind them. Now only one threat remained. It was time for them to board the Skyhold, take back Agnès, and defeat the Kaiser._

_The final battle was about to commence._

_Or rather… That’s what they wanted to think_

 


End file.
